Developers Deserve Consistent Policies

Since the store's launch, Apple has cultivated a sense of ambiguity that
continues to impact both developers and consumers. When it does divulge
information on why it has rejected certain applications or it talks about its
policies, the company is intentionally ambiguous, doing everything it can to
not divulge too much about how it operates its store. That lack of detail makes
some wonder if Apple can even be trusted.
6. Developers are still kept in the dark

Speaking of the approval process, some developers are still wondering why
it takes so long. Granted, Apple reviews thousands of applications, which slows
down the process, but some developers are still waiting weeks before they find
out if their application will be added to the marketplace. The sooner the apps
are added to the store, the better.
8. Apps are held to a higher standard

When users are looking for content in the iTunes Store, they can find just
about anything. Right now, several films and songs with content targeted to
adults are available for purchase in Apple's Store. And yet, applications that
feature the same or, in some cases, even more innocuous visuals have been taken
down. If a policy affects one section of a store, it should affect all
sections.
9. Precedents going forward

Apple has
done an adequate job in recent months outlining some of its App Store rules,
but it needs to do better. Some of the applications that were recently removed
from the store were selling extremely well. Simply removing them without a fair
warning to developers was a major blunder on Apple's part. It needs to
establish policies that will determine how such a situation should be handled
going forward.
10. It goes too far

Apple's App Store decisions go a little too far. Rather than individually
sift through the worst of applications, the company tends to use a broad brush
to eliminate any applications that might offend someone. Fairness is certainly
not guaranteed in Apple's App Store, but a fairer process of vetting
applications is definitely needed. Apple's policies have negatively affected
several developers that have created applications that might not have deserved
to be taken down. It needs to address that.

Don Reisinger is a freelance technology columnist. He started writing about technology for Ziff-Davis' Gearlog.com. Since then, he has written extremely popular columns for CNET.com, Computerworld, InformationWeek, and others. He has appeared numerous times on national television to share his expertise with viewers. You can follow his every move at http://twitter.com/donreisinger.